Blue Apron Meals: The Final Verdict

When I was offered a Blue Apron coupon code, I was initially reluctant to give them a try. I’m not a fan of subscription boxes, and quite frankly, I consider myself an expert home cook. From my perspective, what could Blue Apron really offer me?

Well, a lot actually. As I shared in my two week check-in, Blue Apron came at the perfect time, as our lives went from zero to sixty when my husband was offered a job out of state. While we were preparing for a big move at some point in the next year, we definitely didn’t expect it to happen this quickly, and to purchase a home within six weeks (if we do, actually, make our closing on the 31st).

I’ve spent the past month scrambling to get together paperwork and funds to purchase our home, in addition to keeping afloat with my clients. The beauty of freelancing is that I set my own schedule, but the downside is that you really don’t get any vacation time. I just started with a new client, Net Nanny, so I’m reluctant to ask for a break. What does all of my babbling mean? Well, I’m incredibly harried and having Blue Apron deliveries has been an unbelievable time saver.

So, yes, Blue Apron absolutely saves you time, without sacrificing quality. Not only does Blue Apron take care of my meal planning, but they send you exactly what you need to prepare healthy meals (with the exception of pantry staples such as olive oil). No more scrambling to figure out what to do the remainder of the bundle of leeks you bought for the recipe that only required ONE, and no more letting bunches of celery, spring onions, or any other produce, go to waste in your refrigerator. I really love this aspect of Blue Apron, but this convenience does have associated waste.

Since Blue Apron sends you exactly what you need for your recipe, almost every item is packaged in small baggies, bottles and containers. That’s a lot of waste. There is good news, however. While we’re recycling our Blue Apron boxes by using them for our current move (they’re perfect for packing kitchen items), Blue Apron does offer a recycling program for all of their packaging.

In addition to being a time-saver, Blue Apron is great for new cooks. Not only do they provide recipe cards with step-by-step instructions and photos, but they will teach new cooks one of the most difficult things to learn about cooking — time management. I like how Blue Apron guides users through the recipes, telling cooks what to prep and at what stage to prep it, as well as what you should be doing as one part of dinner simmers. The recipes really can be prepped and cooked in 30-40 minutes, but they’ll taste like you spent hours preparing the meal.

If you’re interested in Blue Apron to help with portioning meals, I will warn you that Blue Apron portion sizes are hearty. This is great for enthusiastic eaters, but can be bad for those wanting help in keeping their portion sizes to a minimum. For example, I ordered Blue Apron meals for a family of four. Each meal was able to feed the three of use for two nights.

Because Blue Apron uses premium quality ingredients from specially selected sources, everything in your box will be of the highest quality, from the meats and fish to your produce. In fact, a couple of times I was unable to get to cooking Blue Apron until 4-5 days after delivery a couple of times, and the produce was still in excellent condition (however, I don’t really recommend doing this, especially if you have fish).

And again, the packaging your Blue Apron items arrive in is specifically tailored to keep your items fresh until you get home and are able to unpack the box. In fact, the ice packs they send with your food, and they send plenty of them, typically take several days to thaw. I would feel perfectly comfortable with my box being delivered during a summer heatwave, and sitting on my doorstep until I get home from work.

My verdict? I give Blue Apron two thumbs up for premium ingredients, excellent packaging, step-by-step recipe guides and saving me a great deal of time.

If you’re interested in trying Blue Apron for free, contact me, I have 3 invites to send out. Want to dive in now? Use my Blue Apron coupon code to save $20 off of your first order:

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Lauren B. Stevens is a former publishing rep-turned-writer, whose work can be found on ChildVantage, The Huffington Post, Scary Mommy and Care.com, among many other websites. When she's not chasing her precocious preschooler, Lauren pens hilarious and heartwarming stories about her life as a mother, ghostwrites blogs for businesses, and sometimes even finds the time to write a bit of creative non-fiction.
Look for Lauren's published essays in the books listed below: